Korean stars surprised by American fandom

"A force to be reckon with."


There's a great article by Shelly Smith that encapsulates the recent Hallyu or Korean wave at this year's LVHIFF. LEE Byung-hun, the star of A BITTERSWEET LIFE was literally mobbed by throngs of screaming fans, mostly older women! There was strong representation across the board with our largest Korean contingent ever:

- KANG Je-gyu, director of SHIRI and TAEGUKGI, served on our Jury

- SAD MOVIE: Actor LEE Kiwoo and Director KWON Jang-kwon (The film sold out 4 times!)

- WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL: Director PARK Kwang-hyun

- SA-KWA: Director KANG Yi-kwan

Viva Korea!

Do You Think Daniel Dae Kim is Hot? Vote Now!

Daniel Dae Kim, or DDK to his beloved and screaming fans, plays the character Jin on LOST and is a ubiquitous TV and film actor who has appeared in 24, ER, ANGEL, BABYLON 5: CRUSADES (a personal fave) and SPIDERMAN 2 among others.

Anyway, Jin has become one of my favorite characters on LOST and his story arc of redemption is what makes the show so damn great. Plus, DDK is one of the hardest working actors in Hollywood and a positive portrayal of Asian-American masculinity in mainstream media. He also is a big fan of LVHIFF, so he get's a gold star in my book!

Well, he's up for the annual PEOPLE Magazine SEXIEST MAN ALIVE and there's an online poll. If you're a DDK fan or want to see an Asian guy rubbing elbows with Brad, Tom, Mel and Orlando, then by all means, let's make it happen! DDK! DDK! DDK!

Jordan Catalano to Play John Lennon Assassin



Mynette's kick-ass Hawaii Film Office blog reports that there's going to be a second project in the works about Mark David Chapman, who also served in the army here in Hawaii in the 1970s, while plotting away Lennon's assassination.

First off, Leto looks nothing like Chapman. And yes, he does have indie cred (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, FIGHT CLUB), but he will forever be Angela Chase's dreamboat slacker in MY SO-CALLED LIFE. What a damn good show that was!

Anyhoo, like Mynette, I find it also disheartening that this project will forgo the portrayal of Chapman's Asian wife for a composite character to be played by the gaunt-by-the-minute Lindsay Lohan (you had promise in MEAN GIRLS!).

Keep in mind, there is another project done by Brit filmmakers and Gloria Abe (Chapman's wife) is being played by Mie Omori, the lead actress in FISHBOWL, the winner of the Best Hawaii Film & Videomaker Award at this year's LVHIFF. Mie is only a junior at Iolani but she's got a bright future ahead of her! We'll keep you posted if we hear of further developments on this "other" project.

Who is T. Chang?

Ms. Taylor Chang was our roving reporter at this year's LVHIFF. A high school student from Punahou, program coordinator Christian asked her to post some entries. She is also a budding filmmaker, with an impressive documentary called BON DANCE that played in our student showcase this year. It's not only impressive because it is a well planned and researched piece, but it was a film she did on her own and not as a class assignment. Taylor just felt compelled to make a documentary about this hallowed tradition in Hawaii and the Japanese-American community!

I think Harvard and Yale is sniffing around....

All the Leaves are Brown and the Sky is Gray at AFM....

Well everybody, the festival is finally over. The Sam Jackson tribute went off without a hitch and he was such a crack-up on stage! Thanks for the 400 ppl who attended last night at the Monarch Room. It was truly a capstone to our 25th. Anyway, once the event concluded, Trevor, my co-worker and festival "mailboy" (which in HIFF terms means he runs the entire show), rushed me to the airport to catch my red eye to LA. Barely made it.

Anyway, here in Santa Monica, all registered for the American Film Market... but I'm deathly ill. My throat is on fire, burning up and my sinuses are mimicing scenes from every bad alien birth scene. Secretion of mucuous is not pretty for the throngs of pretty ppl here. So, off to bed, bought some Nyquil and hopefully, I'll be up for AFM tomorrow morning.

One Night in Mongkok Response

This movie was gritty, and by the end, it was disturbing. I felt there was a definite message against violence, and the movie definitely showed the reality and potential consequences of living a life that revolves around violence and negative ideals.
The film successfully portrayed Mongkok as a heavily populated, dirty, and polluted city full of crime. I don’t think I’d want to go there if I were a tourist.
I think the editing, along with other creative decisions, was done very artistically and added to the movie’s unique style. In many ways, although the movie was very graphic, the editing barely saved the movie from being way too graphic. Still, I think some people would say the movie was too graphic anyway. I would go as far as to say that the editing was beautiful while the content was not.
Decisions, such as using black and white or using an unsteady camera versus a steady camera, also added to the movie’s style. What I appreciated most as the music and the sounds. The director’s use of sound and music, along with the editing, was impressive. The fast-beat drums in the music were appropriate and definitely created increasing tension in various places throughout the movie. I noticed two kinds of music. One style had the fast-beat drums, and the other style had a softer, sort of lullaby-like ring to it. The music coincided with the action-intense scenes and the more emotional, intimate scenes. There was a contrast between the intense, physical scenes and the emotional scenes, which were used interchangeably. In the end, the emotion and the action-intense, physical aspects of the movie finally came together in one big blow.